Processing animal carcasses such as pork and beef to produce a rack of ribs (a slab of ribs) requires the cutting of the rack of ribs from a shell bone. A shell bone, as generally referred herein, consist of feather bones, back bones and the ribs. Because of the shape of the shell bone it is difficult to obtain a consistent regular cut of the rack of ribs unless the ribs are cut out of a shell bone by hand. This, however, limits the production rate and increases the cost of production.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a method and mechanism to cut out a rack of ribs from a shell bone that is fast, efficient and produces consistent cuts with improved yields.